Bush launches controversial mental health plan (BMJ)
President Bush announced on 26 July 2004 that his administration has begun implementing the recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to “improve mental health services and support for people of all ages with mental illness” through comprehensive screening.
The plan states that schools are in a “key position” to screen the “52 million students and six million adults who work at the schools” and includes recommendations for screening preschool children.
While I’m for more screenings, I think they should always be voluntary and shouldn’t put key individuals, such as teachers, in a dual relationship with their students.
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4 Comments to
“Bush launches controversial mental health plan”
Oh.. God NO!!! Don’t the schools have enough to do to keep the roll straight!!! I for one would ban my children from being tested!
oh dear… bush is certainly no one to be screwing around
with mental health issues. do i have the right to refuse to be
tested? I am a seventh grade student, and i imagine that makes
me at risk, no? I bet I have the right to remain silent.
they can’t make me do anything…
What, exactly, do they plan to do with the results of this screening? I have mixed feelings. I don’t think that just medicating all these kids is going to solve anything, and that may cause whole new problems. But, on the other hand, when there are legitimate mental health concerns that can be detected and effectively treated (including provision of social support, encouragement of resiliency, etc.), then that could be a very good thing. This issue hits home with me on a number of counts. I had obvious symptoms of depression that I can trace back to at least the age of 9, and probably 5 or 6 or earlier. It only got worse as I got older, even through adulthood, and I am so angry at all the people who could have and should have done something back then. Maybe I wouldn’t spent 30 years believing that I had no potential and was doomed to failure, and that nobody cared. But, back then I would not have questioned taking medications, although now I don’t feel that is the answer for me.
Now I have applied for a job doing mental health screening with preschool children. As a screener, I doubt that I will have much if any influence on what treatment is provided, although I think I would have some involvement with followup. The job would be a great opportunity for me, but I hope that I would be doing some good, and not harm.
What next??? - In Arkansas they do BMI tests or Body Mass Index
testing. Just in case a parent was unaware that they had a fat child. It is optional but you’d be surprsied how many sheople parents surrender their child to this invasion. Now they want to test our children’s minds. NO THANKS !!! …….. These are test cases to see just how far we will let them go. I know that I don’t enjoy the freedom that my parents had and my children will not know the freedom that we have now. We need to ask yourselves why? What is their agenda all about? Shouldn’t congress be looking for ways to balance the budget and not be out there throwing more money at programs we don’t need? Again, I ask why are they doing this? I know they aren’t that dumb. Hmmmmmm…… agenda agenda agenda …….. could it be about global governance? These people are sick and it goes way beyond being a democrat or a republican. Open your eyes if you are reading this. Start looking into who the elite of this country are and what they are trying to do. May God bless you !
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 18 Aug 2004
